Subclinical chronic inflammation (SCI) is associated with impaired animal growth. Previous work has demonstrated that olive-derived plant bioactives exhibit anti-inflammatory properties that could possibly counteract the growth-depressing effects of SCI. To test this hypothesis and define the underlying mechanism, we conducted a 30-day study in which piglets fed an olive-oil bioactive extract (OBE) and their control counterparts (C+) were injected repeatedly during the last 10 days of the study with increasing doses of Escherichia coli lipopolysaccharides (LPS) to induce SCI. A third group of piglets remained untreated throughout the study and served as a negative control (C-). In C+ pigs, SCI increased the circulating concentration of interleukin 1 beta (p < 0.001) and decreased feed ingestion (p < 0.05) and weight gain (p < 0.05). These responses were not observed in OBE animals. Although intestinal inflammation and colonic microbial ecology was not altered by treatments, OBE enhanced ileal mRNA abundance of tight and adherens junctional proteins (p < 0.05) and plasma recovery of mannitol (p < 0.05) compared with C+ and C-. In line with these findings, OBE improved transepithelial electrical resistance (p < 0.01) in TNF-α-challenged Caco-2/TC-7 cells, and repressed the production of inflammatory cytokines (p < 0.05) in LPS-stimulated macrophages. In summary, this work demonstrates that OBE attenuates the suppressing effect of SCI on animal growth through a mechanism that appears to involve improvements in intestinal integrity unrelated to alterations in gut microbial ecology and function.

Black and purple carrots have attracted interest as colored extracts for coloring food due to their high content of anthocyanins. This study aimed to investigate the polyphenol composition of black carrots. Particularly, the identification and quantification of phenolic compounds of the variety Deep Purple carrot (DPC), which presents a very dark color, was performed by HPLC-PDA and HPLC-ESI-MS(n) analyses. The separation of polyphenols from a DPC XAD-7 extract into an anthocyanin fraction (AF) and co-pigment fraction (CF; primarily phenolic acids) was carried out by membrane chromatography. Furthermore, possible anti-diabetic effects of the DPC XAD-7 extract and its AF and CF were determined. DPC samples (XAD-7, CF, and AF) inhibited α-amylase and α-glucosidase in a dose-dependent manner. Moreover, DPC XAD-7 and chlorogenic acid, but not DPC CF and DPC AF, caused a moderate inhibition of intestinal glucose uptake in Caco-2 cells. However, DPC samples did not affect glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) secretion and dipeptidyl peptidase IV (DPP-4) activity. Overall, DPC exhibits an inhibitory effect on α-amylase and α-glucosidase activity and on cellular glucose uptake indicating potential anti-diabetic properties.